U.S. Starts the War, Allies Foot the $300 Billion Bill

[Anchor]

The ceasefire agreement between the two sides includes an Iran reconstruction fund of at least $300 billion. While Iran views this fund as compensation for war damages, the United States is shifting the burden of cleaning up a war it unilaterally initiated onto its allies, including South Korea.

Park Won-gyeong reports.

[Reporter]

A draft of the memorandum of understanding on the ceasefire, released by Bloomberg, includes a clause stating that the U.S. will guarantee the mobilization of at least $300 billion for Iran's reconstruction and economic development, in cooperation with regional partner nations.

President Trump is emphasizing that not a single cent of U.S. government money will go into this $300 billion fund.

[Trump/U.S. President: This deal handles our requirements very well. We are not paying anything for this deal, and we have nothing to do.]

Aware of criticism within the U.S. regarding a hasty agreement and "handouts," the administration intends to raise the funds using money from allies rather than the U.S. treasury.

[Vance/U.S. Vice President: We will encourage other countries, not the United States, to invest in Iran. This will only be possible if Iran strictly complies with the terms of the agreement.]

Reuters, citing U.S. government officials, reported that companies in the U.S. and Asia have already agreed to raise over $150 billion, with South Korean firms also being mentioned.

The intention is for the U.S.—which unilaterally started the war without prior information sharing with its allies, causing a massive burden on the global economy—to shift the costs of post-war recovery onto the Middle East, which suffered from retaliatory attacks, and private companies in allied nations.

[Cho Han-bum/Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification: It is very unfavorable for us if we are forced to invest in projects with low profitability, or if the U.S. takes all the prime opportunities.]

The methods for raising and managing the fund are expected to be decided through negotiations over the next 60 days. Given the considerations for entering the Iranian reconstruction market and ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, it will be difficult to simply ignore participation in the fund, leaving the South Korean government and businesses with a difficult dilemma.

(Video Editing: Cho Mu-hwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.